1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a band cart/drum major storage system and method and, more particularly, to a band cart storage system having a storage cart with adjustable platform and/or a storage cart capable of storing one or more band carts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many improvements have been made over the years in the use of hand trucks and dollies for material handling and for moving equipment and instruments, such as band instruments, PA systems, amplifiers, speakers and the like. The problems of transporting such instruments, especially during a band competition, have become increasingly difficult. For example, during a typical high school band competition, a high school band will compete against other bands from other high schools. During such competition, it is necessary for the band to enter and exit a competition area, such as a field or an indoor area in an allotted time, such as 9 minutes. During this time, they are obliged to remove their equipment and instruments from the competition area.
Moreover, during a competition, a typical approach is to use a hand dolly, push cart or to attach a trailer, for example, a tractor or golf cart. Such trailers have the disadvantage of being very large and being hard to transport from competition to competition, as well as not being very compact. For example, US Patent Application Publication 2002/0105169 discloses a convertible cart for transporting objects.
It is often the requirement of musicians, such as a musical or rock and roll band, that they must set up extremely quickly and must break down the equipment quickly. As such, it is a requirement for a musical instrument transport cart that the cart be able to be assembled into its proper position for receiving equipment very quickly and easily. Thus, a band cart must be capable of rapid assembly and positioning such that it can carry objects such as amplifiers, band equipment, drums and the like toward, into and away from a competition area.
During competitions or practices, it is sometimes necessary that the director or, perhaps, a drum major or other person be elevated above the ground on a platform so that the band members, for example, can see and be directed by the director or drum major during the competition. It is oftentimes a necessity or desirable to have a director or drum major situated at various distances above the ground during such performance or practice. While director platforms and podiums have been used in the past, such platforms and podiums are typically a fixed distance from the ground and could not be elevated during competition or retracted for storage and transportation. Also, such platforms typically consume a large amount of space and are not capable of providing storage for band carts.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for overcoming one or more of the problems of the prior art and that provides certain improvements that are desirable to consumers, such as band directors or drum majors.